‘We just want our mom out’: Family speaks on woman charged in Thanksgiving poisoning death
By Kimberly King
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HENDERSONVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — For the first time, the daughter of Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel is speaking out publicly, insisting that her mother is innocent of accusations that she fatally poisoned her other daughter and attempted to poison other relatives during a Thanksgiving dinner in 2025.
Maija Lacey, 28, attended Wednesday’s bond hearing, where a Henderson County judge denied Casper-Leinenkugel’s request to be released while awaiting trial.
“We just want our mom out. I don’t think it’s right that she’s in there,” Lacey said after the hearing.
Henderson County Judge Athena Brooks denied bond as prosecutors outlined details tied to two separate death investigations involving Casper-Leinenkugel. Prosecutors allege Casper-Leinenkugel poisoned her adult daughter, Leela Jean Livis, and others at a Thanksgiving gathering last fall by serving wine laced with acetonitrile, a chemical that converts to cyanide in the body.
Casper-Leinenkugel is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and multiple counts of distributing a prohibited food or beverage.
Investigators have also charged Casper-Leinenkugel in the 2007 death of Michael “Misha” Schmidt, who died at the same rural Henderson County property where Casper-Leinenkugel lives.
“The victim and the defendant were friends,” prosecutor Michael Van Buren told the court of the Schmidt case. “The victim had a trailer on that property. At one point in time, somehow this defendant was able to get that property.”
Van Buren said investigators determined Casper-Leinenkugel was the last person seen with Schmidt before he was found dead after the two had been drinking alcohol together. Prosecutors allege Schmidt’s death was also caused by acetonitrile poisoning.
Maija Lacey, Casper-Leinenkugel’s daughter, said she does not believe either case against her mother is supported by strong evidence.
“There’s a lot of factors in it that just don’t make sense,” Lacey said. “They’ve put a lot of stuff out there that’s just twisted words and not what’s actually been said.”
Lacey describes her mother as loving and devoted to her children, saying Thanksgiving dinner last fall felt no different than previous family gatherings.
“We were all there having fun. She cooked everything like she always does,” Lacey said. “It was nothing different than any other holiday get-together.”
Investigators said Casper-Leinenkugel poisoned her 32-year-old daughter, Livis, through wine served during the meal. But Lacey said her mother never handled the wine.
“Mom didn’t touch the wine. It was Leela that poured it,” Lacey said.
Evan Pegg, Maija Lacey’s boyfriend, also attended the dinner and said he became violently ill after drinking the wine. Despite that, he said he does not believe Casper-Leinenkugel had any role or poisoned anyone.
“The reason why I’m alive is because of her mom telling Maija to call the ambulance,” Pegg said.
Lacey said she also drank the wine but did not become sick. She added that her mother and Livis had always been very close. She said everyone was loving and happy to be together last Thanksgiving.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecutor told the court that investigators found internet searches on Casper-Leinenkugel’s devices about what happens when someone ingests acetonitrile.
“It’s not anything normal people would have in their home,” Van Buren said. “It’s used for industrial pharmaceutical-type uses.”
Van Buren said emergency responders found Livis unresponsive and claimed Casper-Leinenkugel later specifically asked medical personnel to test for cyanide poisoning.
Defense attorney Paul Bidwell argued that prosecutors lack direct evidence tying Casper-Leinenkugel to the alleged poisoning. Bidwell questioned the handling of the wine and whether investigators can prove his client delivered the substance.
“They’re trying to prove Ms. Leinenkugel attempted to murder people at that Thanksgiving dinner,” Bidwell said. “That theory suggests she did it in a very inefficient way because she apparently did not ever touch the delivery system for the poison.”
A future hearing in the case is scheduled for August, when attorneys are expected to argue additional motions before the court.
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